Alternative Credit Options/Prior Learning Assessment

The university may grant credit for prior learning, depending on the academic program, as verified by the following assessment methods:

1. National standardized tests, including:
   • Advanced Placement Examinations (AP)
   • College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)
   • DSST/DANTES
   • International Baccalaureate (IB)
2. Departmental Credit by Examination
3. Portfolio Assessment
4. Credit for Military Training, Military Occupational Specialties, and Other Training Programs Evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE)
5. Credit for Industry Licenses/Certificates

MSU Denver accepts transfer courses awarded through Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) from other accredited Colorado institutions. All PLA assessments exceeding the requirements of the Colorado GT Pathways policy are accepted without further assessment at MSU Denver. 

Transfer credit awarded for PLA remains subject to MSU Denver’s official transfer credit evaluation guidelines. PLA awards are subject to the same transferability guidelines as if the full course were taken at the sending institution. Courses that MSU Denver has determined are not transferrable to MSU Denver are also not transferrable as PLA credit. 

PLA credit awarded for transcripted standardized exams (AP/IB/CLEP) will require official transcripts to be sent to MSU Denver for credit evaluation. 

Prior learning credit does not count toward semester hour residency requirements. Regardless of credit granted for prior learning, all students must complete the minimum semester hour residency requirements. Therefore, the maximum number of prior learning credit hours is limited by these residency requirements. Please review the semester hour residency requirements before planning to use any of these options. See Degree and Certificate Requirements .

Each academic department determines the applicability of prior learning assessment to courses in the academic discipline and for the academic major and minor. Students must meet with an academic advisor in their program as well as with the Assistant Registrar, Prior Learning Assessment to determine how much, if any, credit for prior learning may apply to a particular degree program. The academic department in which the course in question resides will make the final determination on any credit granted for prior learning.

Once prior learning is assessed and credit is awarded, the total number of those credits applicable to a degree will not be reduced unless the student repeats already-awarded credit at MSU Denver or interrupts MSU Denver enrollment for three or more consecutive semesters and readmits to the university under more restrictive Prior Learning Assessment evaluation policies.

For advising assistance with CLEP examinations, departmental credit by examination, and portfolio assessment, students may contact the Assistant Registrar, Prior Learning Assessment, Registrar’s Office, Student Success Building Counter 3 (890 Auraria Parkway Suite 160), 303-605-5574.

Advanced Placement Examinations

Students who have performed satisfactorily in special, college-level courses while in high school, and who have passed appropriate Advanced Placement (AP) examinations conducted by the College Entrance Examination Board may have official scores submitted directly to the Office of the Registrar. This office, in consultation with the appropriate department chair, determines the amount and nature of the credit and/or advanced placement granted. Students should contact collegeboard.com or 888-225-5427 to request official AP scores; MSU Denver’s AP code is 4505.

AP scores that are equivalent to a course with the Oral Communication General Studies designation will receive Oral Communication General Studies credit.

The following is the current chart for the course credit awards for Advanced Placement Exam:

College-Level Examination Program (CLEP)

The College Level Examination Program (CLEP) consists of a series of national standardized examinations. They are designed to assess non-accredited, college-level knowledge in several subject areas. Students are advised to check with their major departments for information on specific General Studies requirements that may not be met through the use of CLEP examinations.

• Credit earned through the English composition with essay, humanities, natural sciences, social sciences/history, and college mathematics examinations may be applied only to General Studies requirements. Credit earned through the other approved examinations may be applied toward any requirements for completing the degree, unless otherwise stated.
• CLEP examinations are recorded without reference to a letter grade and are not figured into the student’s GPA. Credit earned through CLEP examinations does not count toward semester hour residency requirements. See Degree and Certificate Requirements .
• In order to have CLEP examination results evaluated, the student should send a copy of the official score report to: Metropolitan State University of Denver, Office of the Registrar, Campus Box 84, P.O. Box 173362, Denver, CO 80217-3362. To request an official CLEP score report, contact collegeboard.com/clep or 800-257-9558. MSU Denver’s CLEP code is 4505.
• All CLEP examinations will be subject to the statement of policy in place at the time the scores are submitted, not the policy in place at the time the examination was taken.
• Credit awarded through CLEP examinations at other colleges or universities will be re-evaluated at MSU Denver according to the MSU Denver policy in place at the time the test scores are submitted. Students are advised to have an official copy of their score(s) sent to the university in order to have that credit evaluated.
• Any exception to these policies must be approved through the Petition for Degree Exception. Information about filing an appeal through the Petition for Degree Exception is available from the Dean’s Office of the College or School corresponding to the student’s major.
• Failure to achieve the required score(s) listed will not be entered on the permanent record. However, a copy of the CLEP score report will be retained in the student’s file.

Additional information about the content and format of CLEP examinations is available through the College Board website. Examinations may be taken through MSU Denver’s Office of Assessment and Testing located in the Tivoli Student Union, Room 347, 303 615-1700. Other official testing centers can be found through the College Board website listed above.

Examination scores are based on standards set by NTE/ETS and in consultation with the appropriate department chairperson.

*MGT8900 is equivalent to MGT3000- Organizational Management, but counts as lower division.

*MKT8900 is equivalent to MKT3000- Principles of Marketing, but counts as lower division.

DANTES Tests (DSST)

MSU Denver awards credit for Defense Activity for Nontraditional Educational Support (DANTES) Subject Standardized Tests (DSST). Credit may be awarded if the DANTES score is at the ACE (American Council on Education) minimum and the MSU Denver Academic Department approves the credit. To have a DANTES exam evaluated, a DANTES transcript or ACE transcript showing the exams taken and scores received must be submitted to the Office of the Registrar. To request a copy of your DANTES scores, please go to the following website.

For information on test credit, please visit the Colorado Department of Higher Education.

International Baccalaureate

Students who complete the IB Diploma Program and the IB examinations are guaranteed admission to the university and are eligible to receive credit and advanced placement standing. To receive credit, a student must receive at least a score of four (4) on each IB examination and call 301-202-3025 or visit this site to request that official scores be mailed directly to the Office of Admissions from the IB organization. For specific equivalencies, see the table below. Please contact the Office of the Registrar at 303-556-3991 for more information. Students should consult with the appropriate department for further advising and with their major departments about acceptance of credits toward their majors.

IB scores that are equivalent to a course with the Oral Communication General Studies designation will receive Oral Communication General Studies credit.

Departmental Credit by Examination

A department may grant a student credit for college courses for which the student requests and passes appropriate examinations. The non-refundable processing fee reflects actual administration costs and must be paid prior to taking the examination. Credit through departmental examination is based on knowledge equivalent to a regular course offered by the university. Omnibus-numbered courses are excluded. No record of failures on such examinations will be entered on the student’s permanent record.

The following policies apply to all courses:

• Examinations cannot be taken to raise grades, to remove failures, or to remove notations that have no effect on the GPA.
• Credit by examination is not applicable toward the semester hour residency requirements. See Degree and Certificate Requirements .
• Credit by examination will not be granted for courses attended as an auditor.
• Examinations for credit will be taken at a time specified by the department. The department may limit the number of times students can attempt to challenge a course in one semester or in total. See department for details.
• The hours granted for credit by exam are not included as a part of the student’s semester enrollment. The credit will appear on the transcript for the semester in which the examination was taken, but the hours do not count as part of the student’s total enrollment for the purposes of financial aid or any other purpose predicated on total hours of enrollment for a given semester.
• Any exception to these policies must be approved through the Petition for Degree Exception. Information about filing an appeal through the Petition for Degree Exception is available from the Dean’s Office of the College or School corresponding to the student’s major.

The following policies only apply to courses with a gtPathways designation:

• MSU Denver will not grant credit for a departmental examination if, prior to the semester the exam is taken, a student has completed, was enrolled in, or is enrolled in, college courses equivalent to the subject material of the exam.
• A grade equivalent to “C-” or higher must be attained on the examination in order to receive credit, but credit earned for the course will be recorded without a grade on the student’s permanent record and are not considered in computing university grade point averages.

The following policies only apply to courses that do not have a gtPathways designation:

• Permission for departmental credit by examination must be obtained in advance from the instructor giving the examination, the department chair, and the appropriate dean.
• Credit by examination cannot be obtained for a course in which a student has been enrolled at MSU Denver or at another regionally accredited college or university.
• MSU Denver will not grant credit for a departmental examination if, prior to the semester the exam is taken, a student has completed, is enrolled in, or was enrolled in, college courses equivalent to or more advanced than the subject material of the exam. This restriction includes courses designated at a higher level (i.e., 1000, 2000, 3000, 4000) within the same subject prefix (e.g., HIS, ENG).
• A grade equivalent to “B” or higher must be attained on the examination in order to receive credit, but credits earned for the course will be recorded without a grade on the student’s permanent record and are not considered in computing university grade point averages.

Applications for departmental credit by examination are available at the Office of the Registrar (Student Success Building, Suite 160, #3).

Portfolio Assessment

Students may apply for credit for college-level learning gained through experience by preparing and submitting a prior learning portfolio. Credit is awarded on the basis of a careful assessment of the prior learning portfolio by faculty in the department from which credit is sought. Portfolio assessment is available in many, but not all, academic departments. To earn credit, a student must be degree- or certificate-seeking.

The portfolio is developed with the assistance of the Assistant Registrar, Prior Learning Assessment. Portfolio assessment may be used to apply for credit for specific courses listed in the Catalog. Students may also apply for credit for omnibus courses through portfolio assessment with the permission of the appropriate academic department.

Students seeking Prior Learning Credit through Portfolio creation are required to take the 1-credit, EDS 2680 - Portfolio Development Workshop . Students may submit multiple portfolios (approved by major departments) thereafter.

The cost for Portfolio Submission is listed on the Prior Learning Assessment website.

Advising sessions about portfolio assessment and other credit for prior learning options are held on a regular basis. For assistance and further information, contact the Prior Learning Specialist at 303-605-5574 or the Office of the Registrar.

Credit for Military Training, Military Occupational Specialties, and Other Training Programs Evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE)

Military training, Military Occupational Specialties, and other educational programs that have been assessed for college credit by the American Council on Education (ACE) will be evaluated for transfer credit at MSU Denver for Veteran, Reserve, and Active Duty students.

In addition, MSU Denver offers the following package of transfer credit and waivers:

• Either 6 semester hours of lower division elective credit (MILR 8000) for all students who have served four years active duty in the U.S. military OR 3 semester hours of lower division elective credit (MILR 8000) for all students who have served two years active duty in the U.S. military.
• 6 additional semester hours of upper division elective credit (MILR 9000) for students who have either served two terms of service of four years each or attained the rank of E5 or above in the U.S. military.
• 3 credits of COMM 1010 - Presentational Speaking  for all students who served at least one enlistment and achieved the rank of E5 or above in the U.S. military.
• Waiver of the Global Diversity requirement for all students who accumulate at least four months of foreign service in the U.S. military.

Applicable credit and waivers will be granted upon presentation of evidence of either continued active service; transfer to the Reserve component; or discharge and eligibility for applicable VA educational benefits. Students who have been discharged from active service should submit their form DD214 to the Office of the Registrar for evaluation.

To request an official military transcript, visit jst.doded.mil and have it sent to MSU Denver. Community College of the Air Force transcripts can be requested here.

Contact Assistant Registrar, Prior Learning Assessment in the Office of the Registrar at 303-605-7626 for the following:

• Guidance in optimizing the use of prior learning assessment credit to accelerate the student’s path to degree or certification completion. 

• Questions regarding credit awarded for military experience or other prior learning assessment options.

The evaluation of previous postsecondary education and training is mandatory and required for VA beneficiaries. For students utilizing Veterans benefits who are approved for transfer credit as a result of this evaluation, the institution will grant appropriate credit, reduce the program length proportionately, notify the student and Veterans Affairs in writing of this decision, and adjust invoicing of the VA accordingly.

VA students’ records must be kept for 3 years following the ending date of the last period certified to VA. Referenced law: Title 38 CFR 21.4209(f))

Credit for Industry Licenses/Certificates

Non-collegiate training such as corporate and educational programs, certifications, apprenticeships, and professional licenses may be considered for transfer credit with the approval of the academic department.

Page modified on June 27, 2024.